Me And My Uncle

This is the song the Grateful Dead played more than any other, cover or original, all the way from 1966 to 1995.

Me and my uncle went riding down
South Colorado, West Texas bound
We stopped over in Santa Fe
That being the point just about half way
And you know it was the hottest part of the day

I took the horses up to the stall
Went to the bar-room, ordered drinks for all
Three days in the saddle, you know my body hurt
It being summer, I took off my shirt
And I tried to wash off some of that dusty dirt (note 1)

West Texas cowboys, they's all around
With liquor and money, they're loaded down
So soon after pay day, you know it seemed a shame
You know my uncle, he starts a friendly game
High-Low Jacks and the winner take the hand (note 2)

My uncle starts winning, cowboys got sore
One of them called him, and then two more
Accused him of cheating, well no it couldn't be
I know my uncle, he's as honest as me
And I'm as honest as a Denver man can be

One of them cowboys, he starts to draw
Well I shot him down, Lord, he never saw (note 3)
Shot me another, hot damn he won't grow old (note 4)
In the confusion my uncle grabbed the gold
And we high-tailed it down to Mexico

Now I love those cowboys, I love their gold
I love my uncle, God rest his soul
Taught me good, Lord, taught me all I know
Taught me so well, I grabbed that gold
And I left his dead ass there by the side of the road (note 5)

Notes(1) it could be "... dust and dirt"(2) that's how I hear it, but Kevin Sullivan believes it's "... winner stakes the hand" (ie the
next hand). There has equally been some discussion about "Hi-Lo Jacks." I had thought this was Hi-Lo poker with a pair of
jacks as the minimum opener, but Seth Lipner points out that it may well be another game called
Pitch or
All Fours, which has points for High, Low, Jack and
Game (which goes to the winner of the most 'pips' in tricks taken). Don Otis has pointed me to the Official Rules of Card
Games edited by Albert Morehead which has an entry for "All Fours or High-Low Jacks". All this is also discussed on the
deadsongs.vue
conference on The Well.(3) in some early versions Bob Weir sang "Grabbed me a bottle, cracked him in the jaw" which is similar to what Judy Collins sang in the original version of the song (see below)(4) variations included "... that man he won't grow old" and maybe "God damn he won't grow old."
Kevin Sullivan argues it should be "I'll dare he won't grow old."(5) in very early versions, Weir sang "And I left him laying there by the side of the road", also similar to the Judy Collins' version

Background
The song was written by John Phillips of The Mamas And The Papas. According to the liner notes for his (solo) recording on "Phillips 66":

John often used to tell the story behind "Me And My Uncle."
Years ago he began receiving publishing royalties from a song on a Judy Collins record with which he was unfamiliar.
It was titled "Me And My Uncle."
He called Judy to let her know of the mistake because he hadn't written any such song.
She laughed and told him that about a year before,
in Arizona after one of her concerts,
they had a 'Tequila' night back at the hotel with Stephen Stills, Neil Young and a few others.
They were running a blank cassette and John proceeded to write "Me And My Uncle" on the spot.
The next day, John woke up to the tequila sunrise with no recollection of the songwriting incident.
Judy kept the cassette from that evening and then, without informing John, recorded the song for her own record.
Over the years the song was recorded by several people, and eventually became a standard of the Grateful Dead.
John used to joke that, little by little, with each royalty check, the memory of writing the song would come back to him.

It isn't clear how Bob Weir learnt the song - Blair Jackson in "Going Down The Road" says:

"According to Bob Weir, he learnt this John Phillips-penned tune from 'a hippy named Curly Jim' who I can only assume is
Curly Jim Cook, onetime member of the Bay Area band A.B.Skhy. ... Judy Collins recorded a slower version of the song on a
mid-sixties live album, and that may well be where Weir got it from."

Corry Arnold has investigated the identity of "Curly Jim" extensively in his blog posting on
Hooterollin' Around
He concludes that it wasn't Curley Cooke who taught Bob Weir the song, but instead was James Staralow, who is also the
"C.J.Stetson" who co-wrote two songs on Mickey Hart's "Rolling Thunder" album.

Phil Lesh gave a different account in an introduction to the Phil & Friends show at Terrapin Crossroads on 3 January
2015 when they played Grateful Dead songs from 1966:

[Jay Blakesberg] You started playing a song called "Me And My Uncle", which was the most played Grateful Dead song
ever. Written by John Phillips from the Mamas and Papas but made a first hit by Judy Collins.

[Phil Lesh] We saw Dino Valente do it. That's where we picked it up.

Judy Collins' version has some small differences from Bob Weir's lyrics (differences in italics):

Me and my uncle went riding downFrom Colorado, West Texas bound
And we stopped off in Santa FeIt being the part about half way (note 6)And besides it was the hottest part of the day

We led our ponies into a stall
Went to a bar, boys, bought drinks for all
Three days in the saddle, my body hurt
It being summer, took off my shirt
And tried to wash off some of that dusty dirt

West Texas cowboys, all over town
With gold and silver, they're loaded downJust in from round-up, it seemed a shame
So my uncle starts a friendly game
Hi-lo jacks and the winner take the games

From the beginning, uncle starts to winThem Texas cowboys, they was mad as sinSome say he's cheatin', but that can't be'Cause my uncle, he's honest as me
And I'm as honest as a Denver man can be

One of them cowboys, he starts to drawI grabbed a bottle, slapped him on the jaw
I shot another, he won't grow old
In the confusion uncle grabbed the gold
And we high-tailed it down to Mexico

Now God bless cowboys, and God bless goldGod bless my uncle, and rest his soul
He taught me well, boys, taught me all I know
Taught me so well, that I grabbed the gold
And I left him laying there by the side of the road

Notes(6) the Twiliters recording from a couple of years later has
"That being the town just about half way," and Joni Mitchell sang
"That being the place just about half way."
So you can take your pick of "part," "place," "town" or "point" as the 'true' lyrics

John Phillips' own version, recorded years later, follows the Judy Collins version but with some differences:

Me and my uncle went riding down
From Colorado, West Texas bound
And we stopped off in Santa Fe
That being the point that's about half way
Besides it was the hottest part of the day

We led our ponies into a stall
Went to the bar boys, bought drinks for allTwo days in the saddle, my body hurt
It being summer, I took off my shirt
Tried to wash off some of that dust and dirt

West Texas cowboys, all over town
With gold and silver, they're loaded down
Just back from round-up, did seem a shame
So my uncle starts a friendly gameCalled hi-lo Jack and winner take the gain

From the beginning, my uncle starts to win
Them cowboys, they're mad as sin
Some say he's cheatin', but that can't be
'Cause my uncle, he's honest as me
And I'm as honest as a Denver man can be

One of them cowboys, he starts to draw
I took a bottle, cracked him on the jaw
I winged another, doubt he'll see old
In the confusion, my uncle grabbed the gold
And we high-tailed down that road to Mexico

So here's to cowboys, and here's to goldHere's to uncle, God rest his soul
He taught me well, boys, taught me all I know
Taught me so well, that I took his gold
And I left him laying by the side of the road
And I left him laying by the side of the road
And I high-tailed down that road to Mexico

Finally, for comparison, since Phil Lesh said they learnt the song from him, here is Dino Valente's version from 1968:

Me and my uncle went riding on downWest Colorado to Texas town
We stopped over in Santa Fe
That being the point 'bout half wayBesides it was the hottest part of the day

I took the horses down to a stallI went to a bar, ordered drinks for all
Three days in the saddle, my body hurt
It being summer, I took off my shirt
I was trying to wash off some of that dusty dirt

West Texas cowboys all over town
With the liquor and money, my friend, they's loaded down
So soon after pay day, it seemed a shameSo me and my uncle starts up a friendly gameWe call it High Low Jack and the winner takes the hand

My uncle starts to winning, cowboys are gettting sore
One cowboy calls him down, and then two moreThey says he was cheating off, but that can't be
I know my uncle, man, he is as honest as me
I'm as honest as a Denver man can be

One of those cowboys starts to draw
I shot him down, my friend, before he saw meI shot another God damn he won't grow old
In the confusion my uncle grabbed the gold
And we high-tailed it down to Mexico

I love them cowboys, I love their gold
I love my uncle, God rest his soul
Taught me good, man, taught me all I knowHe taught me so good, I grabbed the gold
And I left him lying there by the side of the road

There is also a recording of the song in circulation by Joni Mitchell from
a performance on the CBC television show "Let's Sing Out" on 4 October 1965
(Joni was known at the time as Joan Anderson).
It's pretty similar to the Judy Collins' version and it seems likely that
Joni Mitchell learnt it from Joan Collins either directly or from the LP.

Further Information
For an online discussion of the lyrics to this song see the deadsongs.vue conference on The Well.
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography
For David Dodd's discussion of this song on dead.net see Greatest Stories Ever Told
For online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com
For sheet music, see:
Grateful Dead Authentic Guitar Classics Volume 2 (guitar TAB)
Hundred Year Hall songbook (guitar TAB)